FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[jknezek]

Jk

What changes do you see coming to NCAA and higher education ?

Good luck to your Generals this weekend. Nice article in Richmond paper today about 5 local guys playing for W&L
and them coming back to the Richmond area to play RMC tomorrow.

Student athlete image licensing is a big one. It's not just that players can now make money on themselves, however it eventually works out, but they will also need tax advisers, accountants, agents, etc. to manage those opportunities for the highest profile. That will eventually eat away at the rest of the NCAA rules, because once you have an agent, agents will keep pushing the lines and pushing the lines. The NCAA has little choice but to allow image licensing, but it is the beginning of the end of their thin veneer of amateurism.

As for higher education... there is an excessive number of small colleges in this country. Many with little to no endowments. Many are way to expensive for the value of the degree they provide. Given the ever expanding costs of labor, healthcare, and physical plant, these schools will not be able to keep up. The only reason they are doing as well as they are, and many of them aren't, is because states keep cutting subsidies to their university systems making them more expensive. Eventually online will become the norm for degrees, with only elite or affluent students going to brick and mortar universities. The cost structure is too out of whack. So you will, eventually, see a huge failure rate of under-endowed or low performing colleges.

The only reason it hasn't happened yet is because parents are still skeptical of online degrees. Another generation or two and they will be the norm. My kids may be one of the last generations that shell out the big dollars for mediocre degrees.

As for my Generals... I root for the students. I pull for them and hope for them and in the time I've gotten to watch have seen the effort on the field to make me proud of them. I feel like the adults have let them down.

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ The part about small colleges is likely quite accurate. One of the schools in the conference I follow out here in the midwest announced exactly one year ago that it needed 2.1 million dollars to remain open for the spring 2019 semester. I don't know how much it got, but it is still alive and kicking for the time being. But can it hold on for five, ten, twenty years? Who knows?

[Matt Barnhart (kid)]

Two huge games involving the top four ODAC teams. Anyone care to pick? I will go...

BC 42 - E&H 31

W&L 30 - RMC 28 (upset!)

[BAM-BAM29]

W&L is an easy pick. eh was and should have beaten rmc BU is the team this year. eh enjoying the league's most improved. winner takes all in this match up as the last two weeks of season leaves only hapless HSC to figure out how to win one.

[Macon]

Two huge games involving the top four ODAC teams. Anyone care to pick? I will go...

BC 42 - E&H 31

W&L 30 - RMC 28 (upset!)

I'll take your scores, but I'll reverse the teams.

[Macon]

W&L is an easy pick. eh was and should have beaten rmc BU is the team this year. eh enjoying the league's most improved. winner takes all in this match up as the last two weeks of season leaves only hapless HSC to figure out how to win one.

HSC will NOT lose today!

[BAM-BAM29]

....are u sure? "BYE" can be a formidable foe.  I wouldn't get on it.

[jknezek]

It's been a while since I've seen a team robbed as bad by the refs as W&L was today. RMC gets FOUR pieces of home cooking in the late 2.5 minutes that were so bad their own radio team was shocked and appalled.

The refs should never work an ODAC game again. You know it's bad when the defense gets an interception and after the play is over the ref throws a flag and decides the defense was offside. A pass interference that didn't exist. And the QB throwing twice after being flushed from the pocket, over the LOS by 2+ yards for completions.

Oh well. Not the Generals' year between the E&H game and this one. But that was truly embarrassing for the refs and the ODAC.

[Macon]

Wasn't able to watch the second half, so I'll take your word on the refs.  I saw some questionable calls in the first half, too.  RMC was driving inside the 10 yard line and RMC QB 'fumbled', even though he was already down (elbow down), so I agree the refs were bad.  44 points in the 4th quarter.   95 plays by RMC, tough game for anyone to lose. 

[y_jack_lok]

It's been a while since I've seen a team robbed as bad by the refs as W&L was today. RMC gets FOUR pieces of home cooking in the late 2.5 minutes that were so bad their own radio team was shocked and appalled.

The refs should never work an ODAC game again. You know it's bad when the defense gets an interception and after the play is over the ref throws a flag and decides the defense was offside. A pass interference that didn't exist. And the QB throwing twice after being flushed from the pocket, over the LOS by 2+ yards for completions.

Oh well. Not the Generals' year between the E&H game and this one. But that was truly embarrassing for the refs and the ODAC.

Wow!! I left for a soccer game after that interception, figuring it was over. Wasn't aware of the defensive offsides call. Came home, saw the score and couldn't believe it.

I, too, thought the officiating was "off", including the fumble by the QB that appeared to be caused by the ground. A gew minutes later R-MC again lost a fumble but it was waved off as being caused by the ground. That seemed almost like a make up call for the first one.

It appears the video of the game is not archived online so no way of checking out these controversial calls.  Terrible way to lose a game. So sorry.

[HSCTiger fan]

I did not watch the game but I don't doubt the refs were bad because they are always bad. Typically for both teams. I had a recent conversation with an experienced high school ref. HS refs are also calling ODAC games. He says there's a tremendous shortage of referees. He said it won't be many more years before HS football will be forced to play games on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays due to the lack of referees. I would assume there's a trickle up effect. Fewer HS refs means fewer D3 refs. I was at a HS game last night that had 25 penalties called. It was for the conference championship. The refs ruined what should have been a great game. It's sad to say but it happens often.

[rmc1982]

It's been a while since I've seen a team robbed as bad by the refs as W&L was today. RMC gets FOUR pieces of home cooking in the late 2.5 minutes that were so bad their own radio team was shocked and appalled.

The refs should never work an ODAC game again. You know it's bad when the defense gets an interception and after the play is over the ref throws a flag and decides the defense was offside. A pass interference that didn't exist. And the QB throwing twice after being flushed from the pocket, over the LOS by 2+ yards for completions.

Oh well. Not the Generals' year between the E&H game and this one. But that was truly embarrassing for the refs and the ODAC.

I was there and the officiating was awful but it wasn't totally one sided. There were more bad calls on your Gennies I'll admit but they were equally terrible both ways. I really didn't see what happened on the interception because after he picked it off I went inside( we were in the YJ Club upstairs in Birdsong Hall and I was watching from the balcony) and when we got downstairs we still had the ball. I will say your Gennies definitely deserved to win. We gave up 4 TD's on drives less than 4 plays- two long runs up the middle on 1st down in the 4th quarter- very uncharacteristic of Pedro's defensive teams. We were upstairs in Birdsong and a lot of what was happening was at the opposite end and we couldn't really see it that well but I'll take your word for it. The conference should be embarrassed over the officiating and this certainly isn't the first time it's been brought up. Kudos to the Gennies for a good game.... we have to go to Bridgewater next weekend and if we play like we did yesterday we will get ROCKED.

[y_jack_lok]

I did not watch the game but I don't doubt the refs were bad because they are always bad. Typically for both teams. I had a recent conversation with an experienced high school ref. HS refs are also calling ODAC games. He says there's a tremendous shortage of referees. He said it won't be many more years before HS football will be forced to play games on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays due to the lack of referees. I would assume there's a trickle up effect. Fewer HS refs means fewer D3 refs. I was at a HS game last night that had 25 penalties called. It was for the conference championship. The refs ruined what should have been a great game. It's sad to say but it happens often.

The issue of a shortage of officials must be widespread. I was driving through Iowa in early September and heard a piece on Iowa Public Radio with the head of high school sports in the state on the problem they are having with the number of officials. One thing I was not aware of is that, apparently, quite a few officials work multiple sports for high school as well as college.

[Macon]

Really surprised that EHC didn't give BC more of a fight, so, no doubt, BC is the real deal.  BC will be a huge favorite at home against RMC.  RMC's best chances are based on ball control and limiting TOs.  RMC's kicking game is back with the return of Vidal to the line-up.

Additionally, I really hope HSC beats FC, I'd hate to see HSC come to Ashland without a conference win and playing with even less to lose.

[Generals98]

rmc1982 I agree with you that the Refs missed some calls both ways, it happens every game! Tough job Got That too!! The thing about the calls that were and were not called Totally Changed the outcome of the game and took it out of the players hands. One touchdown pass that RMC got there were two Refs looking at the catch and I have seen pictures of the catch and the foot is out on the white stripe by a good 6 inches clearly out of bounds but they gave it to them. WL had a touchdown pass called back on a illegal shift that I watch over and over and the guy did not move until the ball was being snapped. The Interception that would of sealed the game, the flag came out late after the play and it was supposed to be offside and I can not find anything. I heard from several that the RMC QB was over the LOS on two of the passes on the last TD drive but I can not verify that one way or another. It also just so happened that all those flags came from officials on RMC side. I don't know if they were doing a good job of coaching the Refs into calls or what>LOL. As bad as it was the WL game against EH was just as bad or worse. Calls will be missed during the game but it seems that WL are getting bad calls that directly effect the outcome of the game and that is the bad part of it. Congrats! You guys won the Game! Good luck against Bridgewater and Hampton.

It's been a while since I've seen a team robbed as bad by the refs as W&L was today. RMC gets FOUR pieces of home cooking in the late 2.5 minutes that were so bad their own radio team was shocked and appalled.

The refs should never work an ODAC game again. You know it's bad when the defense gets an interception and after the play is over the ref throws a flag and decides the defense was offside. A pass interference that didn't exist. And the QB throwing twice after being flushed from the pocket, over the LOS by 2+ yards for completions.

Oh well. Not the Generals' year between the E&H game and this one. But that was truly embarrassing for the refs and the ODAC.

I was there and the officiating was awful but it wasn't totally one sided. There were more bad calls on your Gennies I'll admit but they were equally terrible both ways. I really didn't see what happened on the interception because after he picked it off I went inside( we were in the YJ Club upstairs in Birdsong Hall and I was watching from the balcony) and when we got downstairs we still had the ball. I will say your Gennies definitely deserved to win. We gave up 4 TD's on drives less than 4 plays- two long runs up the middle on 1st down in the 4th quarter- very uncharacteristic of Pedro's defensive teams. We were upstairs in Birdsong and a lot of what was happening was at the opposite end and we couldn't really see it that well but I'll take your word for it. The conference should be embarrassed over the officiating and this certainly isn't the first time it's been brought up. Kudos to the Gennies for a good game.... we have to go to Bridgewater next weekend and if we play like we did yesterday we will get ROCKED.